GameWorks is a gaming-based entertainment center with a single location . It was owned by then-owner ExWorks Capital, each venue featured a wide array of video game arcades, in addition to full-service bars and restaurants. It was originally created in 1996 as a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

, DreamWorks SKG, and

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

, with the company growing into an international chain. Two former executives subsequently acquired the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

location and reopened it in August 2022.

History

GameWorks began as a joint venture between the video game developer

and the film studios

and DreamWorks, with filmmaker

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

providing creative input. Skip Paul was GameWorks' first chairman and CEO, and Jon Snoddy headed the design team. Its first location opened in

in March 1997 with many high-profile guests in attendance, such as celebrities

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...

and Gillian Anderson and billionaire

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend ...

. DreamWorks sold its portion in 2001. GameWorks filed its first bankruptcy in 2004. On November 3, 2005,

Sega Sammy Holdings (also known as the Sega Sammy Group or simply as Sega Sammy) is a Japanese global holding company and Conglomerate (company), conglomerate formed from the Mergers and acquisitions, merger of Sega and Sammy Corporation in 2004. Both companies ...

, formed following the 2004 merger of Sega and Sammy, bought the controlling interests of GameWorks. GameWorks filed its second bankruptcy in 2010; as a result, Sega Entertainment USA, the parent company at that time, closed seven GameWorks venues on March 29, in an attempt to focus on profitability and future growth. Two locations that closed, one in Circle Centre at Indianapolis, Indiana, and another in Irvine Spectrum Center at Irvine, California, originally opened as Sega City. In 2011, GameWorks was sold to an investment group, HNR Capital. In October 2011, GameWorks acquired the assets of several

Jillian's Jillian's was a restaurant and entertainment chain with locations in the United States, headquartered in Reno, Nevada. As of December 2018, all former locations have been closed. History Jillian's was founded in 1985 as a billiards club located ...

Billiards Clubs in California, Washington, and Virginia. In May 2017, Oomba acquired GameWorks. In May 2018,

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

-based ExWorks Capital took ownership of GameWorks. On December 24, 2021, GameWorks announced that it would be closing all of its remaining locations, citing financial difficulties brought on by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Greg Stevens, who served as the company's CEO from 2011 to 2018, subsequently reacquired the assets of the Seattle location with business partner Howard Brand, a

managing partner A partner in a law firm, accounting firm, consulting firm, or financial firm is a highly ranked position, traditionally indicating co-ownership of a partnership in which the partners were entitled to a share of the profits as " equity partners" ...

at former owner HNR Capital. After some reorganization, the Seattle location reopened on August 3, 2022, after the closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Locations

, Washington -

Downtown Seattle Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S. West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by ...

(Opened March 15, 1997, closed December 24, 2021, reopened August 3, 2022)

Former locations

Standard

Auburn Hills, Michigan Auburn Hills is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern suburb of Detroit, Auburn Hills is located about north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 24,360. Auburn Hills is home to ...

- Great Lakes Crossing Outlets (closed March 29, 2010, now Sea Life Michigan Aquarium) *

Bloomington, Minnesota Bloomington is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. It is located on the north bank of the Minnesota River above its confluence with the Mississippi River, south of downtown Minneapolis and just south of the Interstate 494/Inter ...

, Mall of America (closed December 24, 2021) *

Chesapeake, Virginia Chesapeake is an independent city in Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, making it the second-most populous city in Virginia, the tenth largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 92nd-most populous city in the ...

- Greenbrier Mall (Closed in March 2020) (formerly

) *

City of Industry, California The City of Industry is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is almost entirely industrial, containing over 3,000 businesses employing 67,000 people, with only 264 residents as of ...

Puente Hills Mall Puente Hills Mall, located in City of Industry, California, United States, is a major regional shopping center in the San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County. It is most notable for serving as the filming site for the Twin Pines/Lone Pin ...

(Changed to Tilt Arcade until it ultimately also closed. The mall is now anchored by Round 1.) *

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

- Easton Town Center (closed March 29, 2010, reopened as Kitchen Den Bar, now Legoland Discovery Center) *

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

- Northfield Stapleton (Opened in March 2016, closed December 24, 2021) *

Grapevine, Texas Grapevine is a city located in northeast Tarrant County, Texas, United States, with minor portions extending into Dallas County, Texas, Dallas and Denton County, Texas, Denton counties. Its population was 50,631 in the 2020 United States Census, ...

- Grapevine Mills (closed June 27, 2010, now Sea Life Grapevine Aquarium) *

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, planned city in central Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was named in 1888 for the landowner James Irvine. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the ...

- Irvine Spectrum Center (opened as Sega City, later became

Fox Sports Grill The original incarnation of News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp. and also variously known as News Corporation Limited) was an American multinational mass media corporation founded and controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Formerly inc ...

, now Paul Martin's) *

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

- Showcase Mall on the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits ...

(closed March 11, 2012) *

- Town Square (Las Vegas) (Opened on July 28, 2014, closed December 24, 2021) *

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

Downtown Long Beach Downtown Long Beach, California, United States is the location for most of the city's major tourist attractions, municipal services and for numerous businesses. There are many hotels and restaurants in the area that serve locals, tourists, and c ...

- Waterfront - The Pike at Rainbow Harbor (closed March 29, 2010, reopened as Kitchen Den Bar until The Pike was ultimately closed and remodeled.) *

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Downtown Minneapolis Central is a defined community in Minneapolis that consists of six smaller official neighborhoods around the downtown and central business core. It also includes the many old flour mills, the Mill District, and other historical and industri ...

(closed March 29, 2010) *

Newport, Kentucky Newport is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Campbell County, Kentucky, United States. It is at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Licking River (Kentucky), Licking rivers across from Cincinnati. The population was 14,150 ...

(near

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

) - Newport on the Levee (Opened in October 2001, closed December 24, 2021) *

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, it lies ...

- Ontario Mills (closed July 5, 2017, now Under Armour Factory Store). *

Orange, California Orange is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District ...

- The Outlets at Orange (replaced with The Power House Arcade until its closure) * Rosedale, Maryland - Golden Ring Mall (as Sega City, closed 1999) *

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

- The Gateway Mall (closed 2015) *

Schaumburg, Illinois Schaumburg ( ) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, Cook and DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 78,723, making Schaumburg the most populou ...

- The Streets of Woodfield (Opened on June 3, 1999, closed December 24, 2021, now

Dave & Buster's Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (stylized in all caps) is an American restaurant and entertainment business headquartered in Dallas. Each Dave & Buster's location has a full-service restaurant, full bar, and a video arcade; the latter of w ...

) *

South Miami, Florida South Miami is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The population was 12,026 as of the 2020 census. History South Florida had been roamed by Native Americans ( ...

- The Shops at Sunset Place (now GameTime) *

Sunrise, Florida Sunrise is a city in central-western Broward County, Florida, Broward County, Florida, United States, and is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. The population was 97,335 at the time of the 2020 census. History Early history In ...

- Sawgrass Mills (then GameRoom, now In the Game) *

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

- Centro Ybor (closed March 29, 2010 now GameTime)Tampa GameWorks to reopen
, article from TBO about GameWorks/GameTime. *

Tempe, Arizona Tempe ( ; ''Oidbaḍ'' in O'odham language, O'odham) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in t ...

- Arizona Mills (opened November 19, 1997; closed January 29, 2016, now Tilt Studio)

GameWorks Studio

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

Lakeline Mall Lakeline Mall is a super-regional shopping mall located in north Austin, Texas, at the intersection of Ranch to Market Road 620, RR 620 and U.S. Route 183#Texas, US 183. Although the mall has a Cedar Park, Texas, Cedar Park postal code, it is phy ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

- Circle Centre Mall (First opened as Sega City) (closed March 29, 2010, now Tilt Studio) *

Lone Tree, Colorado The City of Lone Tree is a home rule municipality located in northern Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The population was 14,253 at the 2020 census, and was estimated to be 14,061 in 2024. Lone Tree is a part of the Denver metropol ...

- Park Meadows Mall *

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

- Center City Philadelphia - Riverview Plaza *

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

- Alamo Quarry Market (closed April 2009) *

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

- Foothills Mall (reopened as World Sports Grill, which later closed.)

International locations

Kuwait City Kuwait City (; ) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economic center of the emirate, containing Kuwait's Seif Pal ...

, Kuwait (Opened in 2003, later called Gamewizz, closed in 2013) *

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, Mexico (Opened in 2006, closed in 2020) *

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil (Opened in 1999. Despite being a very successful location, constantly full, it was closed in 2003 due to disagreements with the local representative. They wanted to remove the restaurant, and only keep the two bars. The Brazilian company created its own arcade brand, calle
HotZone
) *

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

, Dominican Republic (at Mega Centro Mall, opened in a former

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

fast food, closed in 2015) * Tumon, Guam (Closed in 2006) *

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Austria (Opened in November 2001, filed for

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

in April 2002)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gameworks Sega amusement parks DreamWorks Pictures Universal Pictures American companies established in 1996 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010 Esports venues in Nevada Former joint ventures